


Lunar

by Kanemi



Series: A Demon Walks Into a Bar [10]
Category: VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe, Emotions, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Incubus Ravi, M/M, Self-Esteem Issues, Succubi & Incubi, Trainee Jaehwan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-05-30 16:47:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15100934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kanemi/pseuds/Kanemi
Summary: They leaned back against the edge of the tub, legs tangling in the small space, hands playing together in the water. Jaehwan had never felt more at ease.





	Lunar

**Author's Note:**

> THIS TOOK SO LONG BUT I haven't been in a mood to write lately but now I'm finishing this @ 2am sooooo

Jaehwan groaned with pain, sliding down against the mirror. Beads of sweat rolled down his neck, throat almost convulsing when he took a swig from his water bottle.

The rest of the trainees in the room weren't in a better state, collapsing on the floor like ragdolls, exhausted and thirsty after the long and tough dance session. 

Jaehwan's knee ached, pretty badly, and _who would've known that trying to get the same damn move for over half an hour could hurt so much?_

The dance teacher was a 30-something year old woman, with a strict face and hands that were always curled in dissatisfaction. Her voice was like rolling thunder whenever she gave away commands, fixing their poses with angry looks and pointing out every flaw in their dance.

"We'll have to finish this tomorrow. First thing in the morning," she shouted into the room. The trainees looked up, barely coherent enough to hear.

"You need to work harder, a lot more harder if you want to get anywhere in life." Her flat shoes slapped the wooden floor when she walked out of the studio, silently dismissing the class.

Jaehwan didn't know wether he wanted to slap the woman or cower in shame, but either way he was too exhausted to move. It's been hours of rehearsing, stretching and dancing, and Jaehwan still didn't get all the moves right, still didn't bend his back enough when it was needed. 

"Mrs. Bitchface needs to chill her tiny assets," one of the older boys remarked. A few others laughed along tiredly, starting to get ready to go home.

It took Jaehwan another minute before his legs decided to cooperate and let him stand up, wobbly. He grabbed his duffel bag, heading out of the room without saying goodbye to any of the new friends he'd made in the last 6 months.

This day was exhausting, not only in the physical sense. 

There was the pain, the constant feeling of over-stretched muscles tugging at him whenever he moved. There was the money thing, the tiring hours of work after practice that weren't enough for the rent, not anymore. There was that nagging little voice in his brain that sounded suspiciously like himself that whispered _what could you possibly amount for if you can't even finish a damn choreography?_

The sun was still out when he walked out of the building, another sign of the approaching summer, together with the lack of rain and the abundance of warm eastern winds lately. He hoped the passersby couldn't smell his sweat and despair. 

It didn't take him that long to get to the coffee shop, despite his wobbly knees, but he was kicked out of there just as soon as he entered the backroom. The manager frowned at his sweaty shirt (and probably the dark bags under his eyes, the sad frown on his face, his poor posture, his exhausted face-) and told him to go home for the day, get some goddamn sleep.

 _Sleep would be nice, but there's taxes to do, and not enough money to pay them,_ Jaehwan thought gravely as he walked out to the streets, heading home.

There was an invisible dark cloud looming above his disheartened body, a glum companion that was now a familiar fiend. All he wanted to do was go home and go to sleep, maybe cry his sorrows away before.

His phone was chiming with unread messages from Ravi, at least 6 that he noticed but didn't bother reading. But Jaehwan didn't want to see him. This wasn't something that anyone else could fix, no matter how much adoration and care and money one had.

He crashed into his bed the moment he came home, barely kicking off his shoes before falling right into his pillow. He wasn't as sweaty now, but the dirt was sticking to his skin like another layer, and he was too tired to take a shower. 

All the tears were gone, strangely, but Jaehwan wasn't feeling any better. Researches found that crying makes you feel better and he didn't even have that opportunity, feeling dried out and drained.

He clenched his eyes and clawed into his pillow, trying to get himself miserable enough again to cry, but it was of no use. 

Long minutes passed, and an impending headache clouded behind Jaehwan's closed eyelids, scrambling at the rhythm of his heartbeats like a hot wind. It seemed like forever before his nostrils started tingling with an achingly familiar, flowerly smell.

He sighed silently, burrowing into the pillow deeper-

"Jaehwanie?"

Ravi's voice was barely a warn whisper that glided on the still air of the room, and Jaehwan was helpless when it came to it. He turned away heavily to his back, still holding the pillow as a comforting piece.

The demon was an unexpectedly good sight for sore eyes. His hands toyed with each other on the hem of his white shirt, pretty tan against short, dark jeans. His face, beautiful as always, was laced with worry and softness.

"What's up?" Ravi took a few quiet steps forwards and sat carefully on the edge of the bed, keeping his eyes trained on Jaehwan's. 

"What do you mean?" Jaehwan wished he sounded more than okay than he was, but it came out in a guttural whine that betrayed him.

"You weren't answering my texts so I got worried, and now you're crying into your pillow instead of being at work," his hand went to rest on Jaehwan's calf. "Come here. Tell me what's wrong."

Jaehwan felt himself let out a sob before he sat up, plummeting forwards, into his boyfriend's clothed side.

Ravi wasn't ready for the outburst, as it seemed.

Jaehwan felt a tear escaping his clenched eyes and he held onto the fabric, feeling Ravi carefully maneuver them into a more comfortable sitting angle.

The demon carded a gentle hand through his hair, whispering consolations into the air around them while Jaehwan let it all go, wetting the shirt with the stream of tears that didn't bother coming sooner.

"Oh, baby, what got you like this?"

Jaehwan could feel lips pressing into his hair when he crawled upwards, borrowing his face into Ravi's neck as he gushed one last stream of tears, moving onto sniffles and single droplets of tears, wrapping hands around the other as tightly as he could.

Ravi sighed softly, and hugged him back closely. His hands wandered up and down his back, pressing trails into his skin with familiar ease. It didn't take him long to stop crying.

Jaehwan raised his head eventually and looked up, coming to eye level with his boyfriend, regretting ever ignoring his messages when he was basically the highlight of any of his given days.

"I'm sad," he whispered as if it wasn't obvious. His lungs heaved from the crying. "I'm sad a-and I don't know what to do."

The look on Ravi's face was both relieved and sunken. He had slight dark circles under his beautiful eyes, Jaehwan noted. He didn't feed him in a long time, he realized. It's been at least 10 days since the last weekend he had the energy and time to feed his demon. 

"Jaehwanie," Ravi stroked his cheek with warm fingertips. He pulled him closer and kissed his forehead, shortly but closely. "What happened? Is it something to do with training?"

He nodded, wiping his left eye from any stray wetness.

"I'm tired." _I'm tired from trying my best but never being enough. I'm tired of being cooped up in tiny rooms where I have to make other people satisfied with my performance. I'm tired of eating a salad a day, a bottle of water, a piece of grain bread. I'm tired of hating the way my body moves in the mirror, the way my voice sounds between everyone else's, the way everything always seems to hurt._

"I know you are, believe me," the look in Ravi's eyes was a soothing ice pack. "What happened today?"

"Everything got too much," Jaehwan managed to choke out. "I needed to let out. I-I'm sorry, I have to-"

"It's okay, it's okay, it's okay..."

Ravi's arm pulled him even closer, and gentle fingers wiped the underside of his damp eyes. "It's okay. You don't have to be so strong all the time, you're not supposed to. I should've talked to you more, made sure you were doing good..."

"Nothing of this is your fault. I'm the one whose supposed to keep you fed, and I can't even do that properly..."

"I'm fine, really," Ravi whispered, and it sounded sincere. "I'd rather be a bit tired than have you feel unwell if I go too hard on you. Really, you're doing so good, and you're taking care of me as much as you can. Look, 6 months and I'm not even dead!"

Jaehwan choked out a laugh, and Ravi's growing smile made him grin himself, raising his hands to the demon's neck and holding him securely.

"Come on, let's take a bath. I'll start the water."

"No, no, I don't have money for these water bills," Jaehwan groaned, heart sinking once again. He didn't even have the money for the rent anymore, not to talk about baths.

"What do you mean?"

Jaehwan sighed. "Even since I started training... I don't have that much time to work anymore. I go there every evening and all weekend and I still don't have enough money for this apartment, for proper food- god, I'm going to be evicted by the end of next month!"

"Hey, hey, calm down," Ravi smoothed the shirt on his back, stopping to rest on his lower back. "I'll pay for the bath. Come on, lets go."

Jaehwan let go reluctantly, letting Ravi go and start the water in his tiny bathtub.

Ravi took their clothes off while they waited, wrapping the thin blanket around them like a cape. He snuggled closer and peppered kisses all over Jaehwan, making him giggle as he drifted from his stomach to his chest and neck. He whispered sweet words against his skin, calling him beautiful, pretty, amazing.

Jaehwan hugged him and they rolled around the bed, tangling into the sheets and exchanging sweet kisses, tears forgotten. He felt warmer, smiling wider, adoring deeper. They only stopped when the water overflowed in the bathroom, sploshing on the floor.

They put their legs in the tub, carefully descending into the water, inch by inch. Jaehwan relaxed into Ravi's chest, looking up at him with must've looked like absolute puppy eyes, but he didn't care.

He hummed contently when the demon massaged shampoo into his hair, body warmer than the water. He almost drifted off while Ravi rinsed him off, nearly purring under the hands that already knew how to make him close his eyes and relax.

They leaned back against the edge of the tub, legs tangling in the small space, hands playing together in the water. Jaehwan had never felt more at ease.

"Maybe I could pay for your rent," Ravi spoke suddenly, voice barely a murmur.

"Huh?"

"I mean, it's not like I can't afford it-"

"No, no, I can't ask you to pay for my apartment like that," Jaehwan turned to his side to look at the demon with a questioning look. Funnily enough, he looked entirely serious. 

"I mean it," Ravi said quietly. "Where would you go if you can't pay for the apartment? You wouldn't be able to keep the job you _do_ have. It's not a bother to me, I promise."

Jaehwan sighed, wincing lightly. "It's too much to ask for, you know that."

"Think of it as an anniversary gift," Ravi smiled.

"Anniversary?" Jaehwan raised an eyebrow.

"We met a year ago," Ravi's face became longing all if a sudden. "It was a night like this- warm, not cloudy. I know it was back in May, but we haven't noted it yet."

"Does it even count as an anniversary?" Jaehwan whispered, heart fluttering lightly under the hot water and the hands around his middle.

"I like to think of meeting you as something worth celebrating," Ravi answered, and his hand pulled Jaehwan in for a long kiss. And Jaehwan has never, ever, felt more at home.

**Author's Note:**

> And they lived happily ever after!!
> 
>  
> 
> (Who am I kidding, there's gonna be trouble at every corner for as long as I'm writing this series)


End file.
